High Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Wild Populations of Lowland Leopard Frogs Rana yavapaiensis in Arizona

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a fungus that can potentially lead to chytridiomycosis, an amphibian disease implicated in die-offs and population declines in many regions of the world. Winter field surveys in the last decade have documented die-offs in populations of the lowland leopard frog Rana yavapaiensis with chytridiomycosis. To test whether the fungus persists in host populations between episodes of observed host mortality, we quantified field-based Bd infection rates during nonwinter months. We used PCR to sample for the presence of Bd in live individuals from nine seemingly healthy populations of the lowland leopard frog as well as four of the American bullfrog R. catesbeiana (a putative vector for Bd) from Arizona. We found Bd in 10 of 13 sampled populations. The overall prevalence of Bd was 43% in lowland leopard frogs and 18% in American bullfrogs. Our results suggest that Bd is widespread in Arizona during nonwinter months and may become virulent only in winter in conjunction with other cofactors, or is now benign in these species. The absence of Bd from two populations associated with thermal springs (water >30°C), despite its presence in nearby ambient waters, suggests that these microhabitats represent refugia from Bd and chytridiomycosis.     

纳木措可培养丝状真菌多样性及其与理化因子关系

微生物多样性在评估水体生态环境方面发挥着重要作用。本研究以青藏高原纳木措湖为研究对象, 开展水体可培养丝状真菌多样性及影响因子研究。通过膜过滤平置培养法、经典分类法和rRNA转录间隔区(ITS)序列分析对纳木措湖20个采样点的丝状真菌进行分离、纯化及鉴定, 测定水体理化指标, 综合分析丝状真菌空间分布格局与理化因子的相关性。菌种鉴定结果显示, 从纳木措水体样品中共分离纯化出1,412株丝状真菌, 隶属22属47种, 其中链格孢属(Alternaria)、青霉属(Penicillium)和毛霉属(Mucor)为优势属, 链格孢(Alternaria chlamydosporigena)和冻土毛霉(Mucor hiemalis)为优势种; Pearson相关性分析显示, 丝状真菌总丰度与温度、铵态氮、全磷呈显著正相关; 冗余分析显示, 铵态氮、温度、全磷、全氮、盐度及电导率是影响纳木措湖丝状真菌群落组成与分布的主要理化因子。综上所述, 纳木措水体可培养丝状真菌具有较高的物种多样性和空间异质性, 而且水体环境因子影响其分布。     

Two independent approaches converge to the cloning of a new Leptosphaeria maculans avirulence effector gene,AvrLmS‐Lep2

Brassica napus (oilseed rape, canola) seedling resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans, the causal agent of blackleg (stem canker) disease, follows a gene‐for‐gene relationship. The avirulence genes AvrLmS and AvrLep2 were described to be perceived by the resistance genes RlmS and LepR2, respectively, present in B. napus ‘Surpass 400’. Here we report cloning of AvrLmS and AvrLep2 using two independent methods. AvrLmS was cloned using combined in vitro crossing between avirulent and virulent isolates with sequencing of DNA bulks from avirulent or virulent progeny (bulked segregant sequencing). AvrLep2 was cloned using a biparental cross of avirulent and virulent L. maculans isolates and a classical map‐based cloning approach. Taking these two approaches independently, we found that AvrLmS and AvrLep2 are the same gene. Complementation of virulent isolates with this gene confirmed its role in inducing resistance on Surpass 400, Topas‐LepR2, and an RlmS‐line. The gene, renamed AvrLmS‐Lep2, encodes a small cysteine‐rich protein of unknown function with an N‐terminal secretory signal peptide, which is a common feature of the majority of effectors from extracellular fungal plant pathogens. The AvrLmS‐Lep2/LepR2 interaction phenotype was found to vary from a typical hypersensitive response through intermediate resistance sometimes towards susceptibility, depending on the inoculation conditions. AvrLmS‐Lep2 was nevertheless sufficient to significantly slow the systemic growth of the pathogen and reduce the stem lesion size on plant genotypes with LepR2, indicating the potential efficiency of this resistance to control the disease in the field.     

The Availability of Phosphorus and the Species Composition of the Spring Phytoplankton in Lake Erken

The spring development of phytoplankton and the phosphorus content were monitored intensively in Laken Erken during the springs of 1979 and 1980. The dominant species were dinoflagellates, mainly Woloszynskia ordinata and Peridinium aciculiferum, during the entire spring of 1979. The long period of ice-cover (21 weeks) favoured the motile species, which were able to utilize the available light immediately below the ice. A considerable vertical migration was noticed in March 1979. These large and slow-growing algae were able to store luxury phosphorus, and surplus phosphorus concentrations up to 12 μg P/l were measured, which corresponded to an algal content of 10 μg P/mg C. These values were more than twice as high as those recorded earlier in Lake Erken. Although a spring outburst of diatoms did not occur in 1979 and 1980, the algae were phosphorus-limited in May, as indicated by high alkaline phosphatase activity, low algal surplus phosphorus content and high inorganic N : P ratios.     

Balneomonas flocculans gen. nov., sp. nov., a new cellulose-producing member of the alpha-2 subclass of Proteobacteria

A new bacterial strain capable of producing cellulose was isolated from a hot spring. The isolate was Gram-negative, aerobic, and rod-shaped. The optimum temperature for growth was 40-45 degrees C. Methanol, glucose and other common carbohydrates were not utilized as sole growth substrates. Thiosulfate was not oxidized. The G+C content of the DNA was determined to be 64.0 mol%. Comparative 16S rDNA analysis indicated that Bosea thiooxidans and some strains of the genus Methylobacterium were the nearest relatives. The isolate can be distinguished from these relatives by its defectiveness in methanol utilization and thiosulfate oxidation. On the basis of its phenotypic properties and phylogeny, it is proposed that the isolate be designated Balneomonas flocculans gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is TFBT (= JCM 11936T, = KCTC 12101T, = IAM 15034T, = ATCC BAA-817T).     

Does seed production of spring ephemerals decrease when spring comes early?

To predict the effect of global warming on plant reproductive success, seed-sets of spring ephemerals were compared between a year of extremely warm spring (2002) and normal years at cool-temperate deciduous forests in northern Japan. The spring of 2002 was the warmest in the last 40years and most spring-ephemeral plants bloomed 7–17days earlier than usual. The seed-set of bumblebee-pollinated Corydalis ambigua drastically decreased in 2002 in every population. The small bee-pollinated Gagea lutea also significantly decreased in 2002. However, the seed-sets of two fly pollinated species, Adonis ramosa and Anemone flaccida, were not influenced by early flowering. These results indicat that the effect of global warming on seed production of spring ephemerals differs between species depending on the type of pollinators, and that bee-pollinated species can have serious impacts on reproductive success as a result of climate change.     

Use of low nutrient enrichments to access novel amylase genes in silent diversity of thermophiles

By combining low nutrient enrichments and molecular methods, a high diversity of new amylase genes was detected in a neutral sulphide-rich hot spring in Iceland. Enrichments based on hot spring water and low concentrations of starch were used to select slow-growing, starch-degrading microorganisms. Six enrichments had in total 17 bacterial types detected by 16S rRNA analysis, mostly related to the Thermus-Deinococcus group, green non-sulphur bacteria, gram positives, and uncultivated new candidate divisions. No Archaea were found. The apparent 16S rRNA species composition of the enrichments was very different from that of the microbial mat in the same hot spring. DNA samples obtained from 4 enrichments and from hot spring biomass were screened by PCR for amylase genes in glycoside-hydrolase family 13. Degenerate primers, based on conserved amino acid sequences from multiplealignments of family 13, enabled the detection of 18 amylase sequence types in the enrichments, including -amylases, -glucosidases, 1,4--glucan branching enzymes, cyclomaltodextrin hydrolases, maltogenic amylases and neopullulanases, and unspecified family 13 glycoside-hydrolases. Only one unique neopullulanase sequence, also found in most of the enrichments, was detected in the hot spring biomass DNA. The results suggest that the enrichment method combined with sequence-based screening is an efficient way to access the silent, i.e. not detectable, gene diversity in natural environments.     

Genetic variation of the bud and leaf phenology of seventeen poplar clones in a short rotation coppice culture

Abstract: Leaf phenology of 17 poplar ( Populus spp.) clones, encompassing spring phenology, length of growth period and end-of-year phenology, was examined over several years of different rotations. The 17 poplar clones differed in their latitude of origin (45°30'N to 51°N) and were studied on a short rotation experimental field plantation, situated in Boom (province of Antwerpen, Belgium; 51°05'N, 04°22'E). A similar, clear pattern of bud burst was observed during the different years of study for all clones. Clones Columbia River, Fritzi Pauley, Trichobel (Populus trichocarpa) and Balsam Spire (Populus trichocarpa × Populus balsamifera) from 45°30'N to 49°N reached bud burst (expressed as day of the year or degree day sums) almost every year earlier than clones Wolterson (Populus nigra), Gaver, Gibecq and Primo (Populus deltoides × Populus nigra) (50°N to 51°N). This observation could not be generalised to end-of-season phenology, for which a yearly returning pattern for all clones was lacking. Late bud burst and early leaf fall of some clones (Beaupré, Boelare, IBW1, IBW2, IBW3) was brought about by increasing rust incidence during the years of observation. For these clones, the variability in leaf phenology was reflected in high coefficients of variation among years. The patterns of genetic variation in leaf phenology have implications for short rotation intensive culture forestry and management of natural populations. Moreover, the variation in phenology reported here is relevant with regard to the genetic mapping of poplar.     

Stored elastic energy powers the 60-microm extension of the Limulus polyphemus sperm actin bundle

During the 5 s of the acrosome reaction of Limulus polyphemus sperm, a 60-microm-long bundle of scruin-decorated actin filaments straightens from a coiled conformation and extends from the cell. To identify the motive force for this movement, we examined the possible sources of chemical and mechanical energy and show that the coil releases approximately 10-13 J of stored mechanical strain energy, whereas chemical energy derived from calcium binding is approximately 10-15 J. These measurements indicate that the coiled actin bundle extends by a spring-based mechanism, which is distinctly different from the better known polymerization or myosin-driven processes, and that calcium initiates but does not power the reaction.